John van Ryzin, the creator of H.E.R.O., finally revisited the concept forty years later, and the end result was a spiritual successor, Alien Abduction (legally, H.E.R.O. is still the property of Activision, so a spiritual successor was as close as he could get without being sued). It was released for the Atari VCS in 2024, and later that year, released for the Atari 2600 through Audacity Games.
Now taking place in the distant future, Alien Abduction sends you off on another rescue mission. You’re a Space Force Tech Specialist, Grade 3, and you must infiltrate an alien spaceship to rescue the captured Princess Zyrvanni from the aliens that have abducted her. Standing in your way are hordes of aliens, all determined to stop you in your tracks. The aliens have also set up various death traps throughout their ship – and if that wasn’t enough, you only have a limited supply of power for your space suit that must be replenished constantly. The aliens can also sap your health, so be on your guard! Luckily, you’re not defenseless – you have both a plasma gun and your wits. Hopefully those will be enough to keep you alive.
The first thing you’ll want to do is learn how to properly navigate the ship. Each area of the ship is made up of different floors, and if you’re not careful, you’ll fall right through some of them. If you’re lucky, you’ll only be damaged. Pushing up on the joystick lets you fly with your rocket boots, but if you try to land on an unsupported floor without pushing down, you’ll fall right through it. Of course, the ship is absolutely crawling with aliens: robot guards, flying drones, and the aliens themselves, and they’re all very quick. Usually a couple of blasts from your plasma gun does away with them, which you fire by pressing the button on the joystick. Some of the robot guards crouch down and shoot, so you have to be quick on the draw. Duck by pressing down and blast away. There are also glowing walls, radioactive floors, closing passageways that will crush you and various pieces of spaceship equipment, all of which will injure, if not outright kill you, on contact. You’ll also encounter blocked off areas that you need to get through to proceed. Usually there’s a bomb nearby, which can be triggered by standing near it and pressing down on the joystick. Get away quickly after triggering the bombs, or the resulting explosion is liable to take you with it.
There are items scattered throughout the ship that will help you out. Pick up a yellow star, and your energy will be partially refilled (represented onscreen by a yellow gauge marked “E”). Red cylinders do the same, but for your health (represented onscreen by a red gauge marked “H”). Every so often you’ll encounter a purple heart, which gives you an extra life.
Once you’ve found and rescued Princess Zyrvanni, you move on to the next spaceship to rescue her again. There are twenty ships total at first, but once you’ve completed the twentieth ship, you’ve earned HERO status and unlock sixty additional ships to complete. Of course, the difficulty gradually ramps up after the first ship is completed, with every subsequent ship featuring more aliens and blockades in your way, item pickups replenishing less energy and health, and your suit’s energy draining faster and faster.
No one said it would be easy, but being a hero never is.
